A dad and his son grabbed golf clubs and baseball bats as they fought two brothers on a quiet Merseyside street.
Horrified neighbours watched as David and Jack Roach and Brendan and Michael Kennedy waged a bizarre brawl against each other in Woodchurch last year.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the disorder, which apparently stemmed from an allegation of bike theft, started after one of the Kennedy brothers arrived at the Roach family home with a metal bar before the situation escalated rapidly.
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All four men appeared before a judge today but only the youngest, Jack Roach, was sent to jail. Andrew Jebb, prosecuting, said police received calls about disorder on Greenwood Road on the evening of September 29 last year from concerned members of the public.
When they arrived at the scene they saw Brendan Kennedy, 35 and Michael Kennedy, 36, fleeing in their van. After police stopped them and found damage to the van and injuries to Michael Kennedy’s arms and back they arrested the pair and went to the Roaches’ home.
There, they said David Roach, 51, and Jack Roach, 19, did not engage with the police about the incident but they later recovered CCTV which revealed a bizarre fight lasting around five minutes. Footage appeared to show the Kennedy brothers arriving in their white van before approaching the home. Brendan Kennedy could be seen grabbing a bar before Jack Roach and, later, David Roach ran out of their home. Brawling then continued for a number of minutes both on and off camera before the Kennedys drove away.
The court heard later in the hearing that the Kennedys later said they went round to the home because they believed it was linked to a bike stolen from one of them, something the judge in the case, Recorder Daniel Prowse, said could not be substantiated. He said the Kennedys had attempted to “take the law into their own hands” when going to Greenwood Road.
All four men have a range of previous convictions and later pleaded guilty to affray. All except Michael Kennedy also admitted carrying offensive weapons. Olivia Beesley, defending Brendan Kennedy, and Ben Berkson, defending Michael Kennedy, told the court the brothers, who are both fathers to young children, deeply regretted their actions, having avoided offending for a number of years and turned their lives around.
Ms Beesley said the brothers believed, rightly or wrongly, that there was a connection between the Roaches and a bike of theirs that had been stolen and they had gone round to the Roach household to confront them.
Chris Macmaster, defending David and Jack Roach, said the father and son accepted their behaviour was unacceptable even though it was the Kennedy brothers that came to their home
He said: “It is openly conceded by the Roaches and by myself on their behalf that this was a particularly unpleasant incident of which they are not proud. All I do say about the incident itself is that the Roaches were at their home address and the trouble came to them. That does not excuse their behaviour. They pleaded guilty and they do not seek to excuse their behaviour.”
Recorder Prowse said all four men had behaved abhorrently during the incident and caused members of the public significant distress.
He told the Kennedy brothers, whose previous convictions mainly occurred when they were younger, that their actions undid much of the work they had done to improve their lives. Speaking to Brendan Kennedy, he said he could have no complaints if he was jailed, a situation he accepted would be “a tragedy” for his two children but one which Recorder Prowse said was his fault alone.
The judge told the Roaches their behaviour was equally disturbing. Addressing David Roach, he said: “If your behaviour in this incident resembles the example you have set for your sons during their lives then you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself.”
He said Jack Roach’s previous convictions for carrying offensive weapons meant he had to go to prison and jailed him for 11 months. Recorder Prowse suspended David Roach’s 13 month jail term, Brendan Kennedy’s 12 month jail term and Michael Kennedy’s 10 month jail term for 18 months in each of their cases.
He also approved a criminal behaviour order for Jack Roach which will limit his movements and the people he can associate with in Merseyside once he gets out of prison. That order will last for four years.
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